DangerDave's Dragon Blood Wine

[wildhair]

I used 2 buckets for the initial ferment - mixed the liquid & dry ingredients in 1 bucket, then put 1/2 the fruit ^ 1/2 the liquid in each bucket. Also used a low foaming yeast - last batch I made in a 8 gal fermenter.

 

[blossomfarm]

I have not personally tried it - I have read where others have. It's sort of like an F-pac. If I were going to try this - I would probably heat up the jam & then liquefy it in a blender with a little water to make it easier to stir in. It may affect the clarity - you may have to give it additional time to clear. I'd be interested in hearing how it worked out.

I heat up the jam with hot water added some pectin let set overnight added to the base and so far so good.... it is still in my fast ferment, but taste is the bomb, going to rack again next week.

 

[Elmer]

After all these years I have finally determined why SWMBO does not like my version of triple berry wine.
She finds it too sweet and the use of white sugar gives a very sweet flavor.
I usually backsweeten with 3/4 cup per gallon.
Any ideas on alternates to sweetening?
Or has anyone had success with a more dry version?

 

[Johnd]

After all these years I have finally determined why SWMBO does not like my version of triple berry wine.
She finds it too sweet and the use of white sugar gives a very sweet flavor.
I usually backsweeten with 3/4 cup per gallon.
Any ideas on alternates to sweetening?
Or has anyone had success with a more dry version?

I normally don’t use even half that much sugar, and find its plenty to bring out the fruity flavors.

 

[franc1969]

I haven't been able to find replacement lids yet. That doesn't mean they're not out there. The manufacturer told me they are 38mm lids.

I went searching for replacement lids for soda bottles- eventually found Cary Company. I wanted standard soda bottle lids for reusing spring water bottles for wine in single serve sizes. It's easier than capping beer bottles, but I am doing both. https://www.thecarycompany.com/containers/closures/plastic-caps/beverage
Cary should have what you need, but it's just a minimum dollar order problem. They sell wine kits though, that's my solution. Also gallon jugs and wine bottles.

 

[wildhair]

After all these years I have finally determined why SWMBO does not like my version of triple berry wine.
She finds it too sweet and the use of white sugar gives a very sweet flavor.
I usually backsweeten with 3/4 cup per gallon.
Any ideas on alternates to sweetening?
Or has anyone had success with a more dry version?

Most berry wines need to be a little sweet to bring out the berry flavors. My wife prefers wine sweeter than I do - so I make sure she's involved in the final sweetening.

This last batch (6 gal) I used 4 cans (12 oz ea) of Berry Blend concentrate frozen juice, 2 cans of Welches frozen White Grape juice concentrate (12 oz ea) and 1 1/2 cups of simple syrup. I also added 2 oz each natural flavor concentrate from Brewers Best - raspberry, blackberry & strawberry. She said it was "the bomb" - and gave it 2 thumbs up.

 

[ThreeSheetsToTheWind]

Good lord this stuff disappears fast!!!

Well over half my first batch is gone, and I want my second batch to sit in secondary for a while to degas thoroughly before bottling so I very well might run out before my next bottling...

So far everyone who has tried it loved it, can't decide whether that's good or bad lol.

 

[Jal5]

I gotta make another batch down to 3 bottles from last year!

 

[Bhushan Thatte]

Quite exciting recipe... Yesterday only I started with my first batch of 1 gallon. Waiting for the result.
Thanks a lot Dave for such wonderful recipe......

 

[Elmer]

Most berry wines need to be a little sweet to bring out the berry flavors. My wife prefers wine sweeter than I do - so I make sure she's involved in the final sweetening.

This last batch (6 gal) I used 4 cans (12 oz ea) of Berry Blend concentrate frozen juice, 2 cans of Welches frozen White Grape juice concentrate (12 oz ea) and 1 1/2 cups of simple syrup. I also added 2 oz each natural flavor concentrate from Brewers Best - raspberry, blackberry & strawberry. She said it was "the bomb" - and gave it 2 thumbs up.

That seems like a lot of concentrate.
However I would be curious how the berry blend concentrate performs in lieu of white table sugar

 

[beano]

Racked this BlackBerry over to secondary today @ sg of 0.998. Likely to finish out even lower. Added 2 cans of old orchard concord grape. It is still going strong. The 12 ounce taste test was fantastic. Very dry. Lips sticking to my gums.
I added untoasted white oak to the fermentation and it is very earthy tasting with a slight peppery flavor. Nice mouth feel. Love it like that!
Will update in a few days.

Blackberry Dragon Blood. Started yesterday. SG of 1.095. Can't wait.View attachment 54195

 

[wildhair]

That seems like a lot of concentrate.
However I would be curious how the berry blend concentrate performs in lieu of white table sugar

You'd have to test it for yourself, I suppose. Frozen concentrated juice is not as sweet as straight white sugar. I never add just sugar for backsweetening - I use simple syrup (2:1 ~ sugar & water) and the concentrate is far less sweet than that.


It's all a matter of personal taste - I just shared what worked for me & my wife.

 

[Elmer]

You'd have to test it for yourself, I suppose. Frozen concentrated juice is not as sweet as straight white sugar. I never add just sugar for backsweetening - I use simple syrup (2:1 ~ sugar & water) and the concentrate is far less sweet than that.


It's all a matter of personal taste - I just shared what worked for me & my wife.

I think I am going to break them up into separate gallons.
This will give me a change to try 1 with
berry blend concentrate.
1 with simple sugar.
Might even try oak in 1.

Figure 1 berry blend concentrate for 1 gallon?
And go from there

 

[wildhair]

I think I am going to break them up into separate gallons.
This will give me a change to try 1 with
berry blend concentrate.
1 with simple sugar.
Might even try oak in 1.

Figure 1 berry blend concentrate for 1 gallon?
And go from there

Good idea. 1 can of berry blend concentrate per gallon is about what it worked out to. I did try some with simple syrup in my last batch, and because I upped the fruit to 3# per gallon, it was pretty good. But my wife liked it better with the juice concentrate, so that's what I went with.

 

[dangerdave]

I think I am going to break them up into separate gallons.
This will give me a change to try 1 with
berry blend concentrate.
1 with simple sugar.
Might even try oak in 1.

Figure 1 berry blend concentrate for 1 gallon?
And go from there

I use oak in mine all the time, now, because I love what it does to my DB. I use untoasted oak powder, one third cup per six gallon batch—in the primary. Makes it taste like it just came out of a fresh barrel.

 

[jumby]

I use oak in mine all the time, now, because I love what it does to my DB. I use untoasted oak powder, one third cup per six gallon batch—in the primary. Makes it taste like it just came out of a fresh barrel.

Dave, do you use American or French oak powder? Also where do you by it?

 

[dangerdave]

I order my American untoasted oak powder on line. We don’t have wine supply stores in our area.

 

[RiderEh]

I'm having a trouble with clearing. I followed the instructions, other than I used a 4 berry blend (4 lbs) and blueberries (2 lbs). It's been clearing for about 10 days now, and although there is quite a bit of dropout, it is still very foggy. The only thing I maybe didn't follow that well was I think the sparkalloid mix had cooled quite a bit by the time I pitched it in the carboy.

Any advice? Should I add more sparkalloid or should I throw super kleer at it?

 

[jumby]

I order my American untoasted oak powder on line. We don’t have wine supply stores in our area.

Can you message me the name of the online retailer? I can only find toasted oak powder online.

 

[wildhair]

I'm having a trouble with clearing. I followed the instructions, other than I used a 4 berry blend (4 lbs) and blueberries (2 lbs). It's been clearing for about 10 days now, and although there is quite a bit of dropout, it is still very foggy. The only thing I maybe didn't follow that well was I think the sparkalloid mix had cooled quite a bit by the time I pitched it in the carboy.

Any advice? Should I add more sparkalloid or should I throw super kleer at it?

You have to boil the Sparkalloid for 5 minutes before adding it to the wine, and you should stir it into the wine as soon as it comes off the heat. If you did that - then you might want to wait a bit longer to see if it will clear. It took about 10 days for the Cucumber Wine I made to clear.

If you let the Sparkalloid cool first - then I'd rack it off the sediment you have now and try the Super Kleer. Be sure to follow the instructions - you have to add 1 pack then wait a while before adding the 2nd pack.